How to Grow a Human: Adventures in Who We Are and How We Are Made Audiobook (Free)

A cutting-edge examination of what this means to be human and to have a ‘self’ when confronted with new scientific advancements in genetic editing, cloning and neural downloading.

After viewing his own cells utilized to grow clumps of fresh neurons – essentially mini-brains – Philip Ball begins to examine the concepts of identity and consciousness. Delving into humanity’s deep evolutionary previous to look at how complex creatures like us surfaced from single-celled life, he offers a fresh perspective on what humans think about ourselves.

In an age whenever we are increasingly motivated to regard the ‘self’ as an abstract series of genetic information, or being a pattern of neural activity that might be ‘downloaded’ to a pc, he return us to the body – to flesh and blood – and anchors a conception of personhood in this unique and ephemeral mortal coil. How to Build a Human being brings us back to ourselves – but in doing so, it challenges outdated preconceptions and values. It asks us to rethink how we can be found in the world.